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>> hello iowa. [applause] >> thank you. thank you. are you fired up? are you ready to go? [applause] >> well, first of all, can everybody please give a big round of aplaws to rachel for that great introduction? i want to thank the rams for hosting us here today. i appreciate you guys. outstandingur senator tom, congressman bruce, another congressman who has i guess professor right here

dave, to of my oldest friends in iowa, your attorney general tom miller and your treasurer mike fits jerraled. and i'm thrilled to see all of you and i hope you're enjoying the warm weather. >> i love you. >> i love you back. [applause] >> i just want to know -- look,

i'm from chicago and i campaigned in iowa in january so this is basically the warmest you will be for the next six months. now i've come back to this college today to ask each of you for one big thing. i'm asking for your vote. i'm asking for your vote. [applause] in iowa you can vote today, today, as long as you're registered before october 27, you can vote right up to election day. in fact, you can go vote right after this event at the cole library. and anyone can find out how to

register and vote. so iowa, are you going to vote for me today if you haven't already voted? [applause] i need you. now as many of you know, we had our second debate last night. [applause] i'm still trying to figure out how to get the hang of this thing, debating. but we're working on it. we'll keep on improving as time goes on. i've got one left. but, you know, the interesting thing is that governor romney has been running around talking about his five-point plan for the economy for quite some time. and as i pointed out last night,

and you guys heard yourself, it's really a one-point plan. it says folks at the very top can play by their own set of rules. lower why they can pay taxes than you do or they can use offshore accounts, or they can invest in a company, bankrupt it, fire the workers take their pension, ship jobs overseas and still make money doing it. it's the one-point plan that says it's okay for wall street to keep engaging in the recommendless behave yor we've been fighting back from for the past four years. it's the same philosophy that's been squeezing the middle class for more than a decade. saw the same philosophy we in the previous administration and i have seen too much pain and too much strug toll let this country go down that same

road again. so iowa, we can't -- i want you to know, i want you to know folks here in iowa, understand this, you cannot grow this economy from the top down. you grow this economy from the middle class up. we're not going to go back to what we were doing before. we're moving forward and that's why i'm running for second term as president. now governor romney also took another stab at trying to sell us his $5 trillion tax cut that favers the weththi. -- favors the wealthy. he said heel let you know how he's going to pay for it after the election. here's a tip. usually when a politician tells you they're going to wait until

after the election to tell tu plan, they don't have a pleasant surprise in store for you. and in this case it's because just about everybody who has looked at governor romney's $5 trillion in tax cuts say it can't be done without racing taxes. he says he has a plan to create 12 million new jobs in the next four years. but when folks started crunching the numbers, it fell apart faster than his tax plan. turns out his job math isn't it any better than his tax math. "the washington post" called it a bang switch. so let's recap what we learned

last night. his tax plan doesn't add up. his jobs plan doesn't create jobs. his deficit reduction plan adds to the deficit. so iowa, everybody here has heard of the new deal, you've heard of the fair deal, you've heard of the square deal? mitt romney is trying to sell you a sketch i deal. we're not buying it. we've been there. we're not buying it. we've been there. we've got to finish what we started in 2008. [applause] you don't want to invest in that sketchy deal. let me tell you. four years ago i told you we'd end the war in iraq and we did.

andid we'd tend war in ask we are. i said we would focus on the terrorist who attacked us in 9/11 and we have and bin laden is dead. [applause] four years ago i promised to cut taxes for middle class families and we have by $3600. i promised to cut taxes for small business owners and we have 18 times. we passed a law to makes sure the tax funded pay youts are over for good. we passed healthcare reform so your insurance company can't jerk you around. we made sure insurance companies had to let parents

keep their children on their parent's plan until their 26- year-old if they don't have a job. we said insurance companies you got to charge women the same as men because being a woman is not a preexisting condition. [applause] we repealed don't ask don't tell so no one is ever kicked out of the military because of who they love. >> when governor romney said let detroit go bankrupt we said no and we have an auto industry that came roaring back. last time i was here i said to students we're going to help you afford a college education. and we took $60 billion going

to middlemen in the student loan program and we cut out the middlemen and as a consequence millions of students have benefited from lower interest rates and pell grants. today, four years after the worst economic crisis in our life times we're moving forward again. after losing 800,000 jobs a month when i took office we've added jobs over the past two years. unemployment has fallen from 8% to 7.4%. your 401-ks have started to recover. manufacturing is coming home to america, our assembly lines are starting to hum again. look, we've got a lot more work to do.

but we've got to build progress and i've got a plan to grow the economy and create jobs and create security for middle class americans. i want to export more products, outsource fewers jobs. we can give those tax breaks to companies that are investing right here in iowa, right here in the united states of america, rebuilding our manufacturing. [applause] i want to control more of our own energy. you heard last night oil production is up, natural gas production is up. we'vee've also said is got to develop a new source of energy and we've got to be more fisht with our economy. so we raised fuel efficiency on cars so your car will go twice

as far on a gallon of gas. we had double the amount of renewable energy we generate from wind and solar and buy fuels. today the united states of america is less dependent on foreign oil than any time in the last two decades. so the question -- so the choice you have -- you heard last night, it's not a choice between oil versus solar or natural gas versus wind. we all agree we got to increase oil production and natural gas production. but the question is whether we build on the progress for the new energy source of the future. i'm not going to keep on giving corporate tax funded welfare to oil companies $4 billion a year when we could use that money to promote wind and solar and long-lasting batteries and putting americans back to work

right now. develop that technology right here in the united states instead of china or germany or some other country. [applause] and i've got to tell you iowa, this is not a pipe dream. there are 7,000 jobs in iowa depending on wind energy. governor romney didn't have a plan to end wind jobs in iowa but he called these jobs imaginary. my plan will keep these investments and we'll keep reducing the carbon pollution that's heating the planet. the floods, the whiled fires, those aren't a joke. those are a threat oh our children's future and we can do something about it. that's part of what is at stake in this election.

i want to give more americans the chance to get a great education and get the skills they need to compete in the 21st century. i tried to talk about education last night. and we kept on getting waylayed. if you're talking about jobs and economic growth. what is more important than making sure everybody has the skilled they need? i'm here because of a great education. all of the young people making an investment in a college education right now, you have to understand you need to be quipped. i shell, her gait way into opportunity was her education system. gateway into opportunity was her education system. her dad was a blue collar worker, her mom was a secretary. and right now because of the actions we already took, millions of young people are paying less for college because we took on that system that was wasting taxpayer dollars. rachel, by the way, i took a photo with her parents backstage and she talked about the fact we put in place a tax credit for

middle income families to attend college is helping her attend school right now. [applause] but and you saw last night, even though we weren't able to talk about it as much as i would have lalk liked is a fundamental different. romney says hiring more teachers won't grow our economy over the next four years. but yesing the. -- yes, it will. what about over the next 40 years, what about oir economy for the next 40 years? we could gut education, pay for the $5 trillion tax cut or recruit math and science teachers over the next decade helping our young people refocus on science and technology, engineering, math.

we should make sure all our young people, our daughters as well as our sons are thriving in these fields. [applause] i've got to tell you, we don't have to collect abunch of binders to find qualified women ready to learn in these fields right now when young women graduate, they should get equal pay for equal work. that should be a simple question to answer. [applause] when governor romney was asked about it, his campaign said we will get back to you. that should not be a complicated question. people -- equal pay for equal work. i want my daughters paid like somebody else's son is paid for the same job.

that is the way forward. [applause] last night, governor romney finally admitted that the governor did not support the bill. you don't have to wait for an answer. the late ledbetter fair pay act was the first bill i signed into law. [applause] that was the first bill. governor romney did not want to talk too much last night about how he wants to end funding for planned parenthood, how he supports legislation that would turn decisions about women's health care to her employers. he did not want to talk about it because he cannot sell it. i don't think your boss should control the health care you get. [applause] i don't think insurers should

control the health care you get. i certainly don't think politicians should control the [applause] health care that you get. [applause] we passed obama care -- i like the term -- we passed it. because i do care and i want to put these choices in your hands where they belong. the fourth part of a plan to create jobs right here is to use the money we are saving from ending the wars in iraq and winding down or in afghanistan to pick up our deficit and put our people back to work, including our veterans, building roads and schools and bridges across america. [applause]

governor romney and i have a different theory on this. he said it was tragic the week ended the war in iraq. he double down on that in a speech last week and said we should have kept jobs -- troops on the ground in iraq. i disagree. i know these troops. i know their families. i know how dedicated they are and the sacrifice they and their families make. it was time to bring those troops home to their families. it was the right thing to do. [applause] and every brave american who wears a uniform for this country needs know that as long as i am commander-in-chief, we will maintain the strongest military in the world and when those troops takeoff the uniform, we will serve them as well as they have served us because nobody should have to fight for a job after they have fought for our country. nobody should have to fight for a roof over their head or the health care they need after they have fought for america. [applause]

finally, i want to cut the deficit by $4 trillion or the next 10 years and i have worked with republicans and democrats to cut $1 trillion dollars worth of spending and i'm ready to cut more spending that is not contrary to erode. but we cannot cut our way to prosperity. we've got to make investments in science and research and infrastructure. we cannot do all that and reduce our deficit unless we ask the wealthiest households to pay a little bit more. pay a higher tax on incomes over $255,000. somebody making $500,000 -- they are still keeping the tax break for the first $250,000. after that, let's go back to the same rate we had when bill clinton was president and our economic -- our economy create new jobs and when from deficit

to surplus. [applause] governor romney was asked if it wasis fair that he pays a lower tax rate than a teacher who makes $50,000? he said he thinks it is fair. he thinks that's how you grow an economy. he is wrong. you look at our economic history. that is not how we grow an economy by having a few folks at the top paying less than folks in the middle. i will not ask middle-class families to give up their deductions for owning a home or raising their kids are sending them to college just to pay for another millionaires' tax cut. [applause] 'm not going to ask the students here to pay more for college so i have little more money in my pocket. i don't need it. 'm not going to eliminate

health care programs or head start programs. or eliminate health insurance for americans who are poor or disabled. governor romney again last night, over and over, said i can cut taxes for everybody, i can increase military spending by $2 trillion, i will lower taxes for middle-class families and i will close the deficit. he keeps on saying it and when people ask what will you cut? don't know about you, if i look at my budget, i am trying to shrink my debt, i got to cut something out. so far, he has offered cutting support for planned parenthood and getting rid of big bird. and ending wind tax credits. it adds up to less than 1/100

of 1% of the budget. that was an estimate, by the way. i was doing that off the top of my head. he claims is $5 trillion tax cut will create millions of new jobs and pay for themselves. we have heard this page before. you know where we heard it? in the previous administration. we know it doesn't work. e know what we're talking about and now the choice is up to you. the election now is up to you. it comes down to this -- our opponents tell us that because government cannot do everything, we should do almost nothing. if you can afford health insurance, "you don't get sick. if you cannot afford to start a business or go to college, barr money from your parents. if your company releases harmful pollution into the air, that is the price of progress.

that is not who we are. that is not what america is about. we are in this thing together. [applause] that's what this country is about. here in america, we believe that we are all in this together. everybody. we understand america is not just about what can be done for us but what can be done by us as one people, as one nation. you are the reason that we got shuttered factories in places like newton that are humming again with workers manufacturing components for amazing when turbines buried made that happen because you believe we could do this together. your the reason a mother in cedar rapids, a mother right here in this audience, doesn't have to worry about surgery for herdaughter because the insurance company can not limit her coverage. your the reason student aid -- a student can get help paying for college education and we have a new gi bill for returning veterans. [applause]

that all happened because of you. [applause] that all happened because of you. and we got to do it again. you are the reason young immigrant will not be sent away from the only country she has ever called home. [applause] you are the reason that we were able to bring our troops home and those families are reunited with their loved ones. you made that happen. if we don't fight as hard as we can over the next three weeks, all that could be set aside. that is what we are fighting for. that is what we are fighting for. that is what we are fighting for. you cannot turn away. your voices are not heard, than the lobbyists and special interest will fill the void, the folks running the $10 million check to buy this election, the folks trying to make it harder for people to vote in this

election and you cannot let that happen. i will not let that happen. we have worked too hard to gather over the last three years to let that happen. [applause] you know, back in 2008, it started here in iowa. you are the ones who first showed america that change was possible. and everything we fought for is now at stake. we can choose to go back to the same top down policies that got us into this mess or choose to move us forward with the policies that have gotten us out of this mess.

you can choose to go back to a foreign policy that gets us into war with no plan for getting out or you can help move us forward by ending the afghanistan war responsibly and bring our troops home and focus on the terrorists who attacked us. you can choose to turn back the clock 50 years for women and for immigrants and for gays and lesbians or you can stand up and say we want to move forward. [applause] we believe in the country no matter who you are, no matter what you look like, [applause] that is what is at stake in this election. that is what i still believe in and of that's what you still believe in, we've got to fight as hard as we can for the next three weeks and i promise you, if you're willing to stand with me and knocked on doors with me and work as hard as you can and talk to your friends and neighbors and classmates, and if you will vote for me, we will win lynn county again, we will win iowa again, we will win

this election began and show the world why the united states of america is the greatest nation on earth. god bless you and god bless america. [applause] ♪ ♪ ♪ [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2012] ♪ ♪ [we take care of our own - bruce springsteen] ♪ ♪ ♪

we take care of our own ♪ own take care of our we take care of our own wherever this flag is flown we take care of our own ♪

where are the eyes, the eyes with the will to see it? where are the hard's that run over with mercy? where is the work that will set my hands and my soul free? where is the promise from sea to shining sea? where is the promise from sea to signing seeing -- from sea to shining sea? wherever this flag is flown wherever this flag is flown we take care of our own

wherever this flag is flown we take care of our own we take care of our own wherever this flag is flown we take care of our own ♪ ♪ ♪

sun coming up over new york city fame and fortune one kid helps to pay the rent one could end up going to prison when just might be president -- one just might be president only in america

dreaming in red, white, and blue only in america where we dream as big as we want to we all get a chance everybody gets to dance ♪nly in america o sun going down on an l.a. freeway newlyweds in the back of a limousine banker's son and a daughter all they want is everything she came out here to be an actress he was a singer in a band

they just might go back to oklahoma and talk about the stars they could have been only in america dreaming in red, white, and blue only in america we all get a chance everybody gets to dance only in america ♪ ♪ only in america

where we dream in red, white, and blue only in america where we dream as big as we want to we all get a chance everybody gets to dance only in america yeah, only in america only in america where we dream in red, white, and blue and we dream as big as we want to ♪ only in america ♪

♪ ♪ ♪

>> president obama and mitt romney with key addresses at the annual memorial foundation dinner in new york city tomorrow night. it is a tradition for the catholic charity fundraiser for presidential candidates to make humorous remarks about themselves and the campaign. our live coverage is here on c- span. >> republican vice presidential candidate paul ryan campaign in ohio with former secretary of state condoleezza rice in her first official campaign appearance of the gop ticket. from baldwin wallace university, in ohio, this is a little more than an hour and a half.

>> great to be back. great to be here at baldwingreat to be here with the yellowi think there is a certain buzz right now in ohio. are you ready to win? [applause] i have been all over the state. we have eight rallies. i was at victory centers -- something is going on in the state of ohio. and right here. the momentum is moving. thank you for all your doing. keep it up. we have to do all we can because we have to win, don't we? we simply cannot afford another four years like the last four. i will ask you today -- because ohio was so important, and as they say, so goes ohio, so goes the country.

think about it -- have you done absolutely everything you can, and will you in the next 20 days to everything you can to insure a romney-ryan victory to take back ohio and the country? [cheers and applause] had he made phone calls for mitt and paul? have you put up any signs? have you gone door-to-door? did you get your absentee ballot applications today? every single person here got one -- if you have not already voted early or filled out that the application, do it. let's thank those votes. you can vote right after this rally. they're open 8:00 to 5:00 every day, including today. will you vote early? we want to back those votes. if you vote early, you are free on election day to help other people to the polls. commit to mitt -- vote early.

[applause] we saw last night in that debate why it is so important we do everything we possibly can over the next 20 days, didn't we? we saw barack obama come out swinging. he promised he would take the new approach. style -- and there was. but even though he had a new, different, aggressive style, he still had the same failed record and the same failed policies and when that was pointed out by mitt romney he could not defend them. didn't you think mitt romney did a great job last night? [cheers and applause] mitt romney not only talked about the failed record and that president obama has not offered anything new for the next four years, but he laid out a vision for america. the romney-ryan vision for america. hear.

they want to hear the next four years can be better. we can be sure we let these guys to turn this thing around and get our country back on track. [applause] mitt romney has a terrific partner in paul ryan, doesn't he? [applause] that mission that mitt romney laid out last night -- there is no more articulate spokesman of it and paul ryan, talking about it every day. he is smart. he is in this for the right reasons. he understands america faces serious problems and they are no laughing matter. that is why he did so well in his debate compared to joe biden. [applause] representing you in a united states senate, i cannot wait to states. [applause]

we're also blessed to have another star with us today. [applause] she is one of my favorite people in the world, and is one of america's most respected public figures. folks, didn't she make us proud with her speech of the in tampa? [cheers and applause] i will tell you something you somethingcondi rice, she also makes all the browns fans here proud. the only place she would rather be in here with you is the dog pound. she is an undying, loyal cleveland browns fan. welcome, former secretary of state, condoleezza rice. [applause]

>> thank you. thank you. thank you. thank you. thank you. [cheers and applause] thank you. well, thank you very much. thank you. thank you. thank you. thank you. well, thank you so much for that warm welcome to baldwin wallace university. i have to start by saying go jackets. [applause] i would like to thank my friend and wonderful senator, rob portman. thank you for all you do for your country. and you cannot find a finer

public servant than rob portman. thank you. [applause] now, it is true i am going to go see the cleveland browns, who by my count won the game last week. but that is not why i am here. i want, like you, to see this country prosper and continue to be a place of unlimited opportunity. to see this country lead the world toward prosperity and liberty and peace. and so i am here to support mitt romney and paul ryan in that quest. this is a pivotal time in our country's history. we are at a crossroads, ladies

and gentlemen. we are at a crossroads about what kind of country we are going to be and whether you and i, who have benefited so much from what our ancestors gave us, are going to pass on that same country of liberty and opportunity to our children. is about. [applause] we are at a crossroads because we cannot continue to spend money that we cannot afford to pay back and therefore, will saddle our children with the debts we have taken on. we just cannot afford that. we cannot afford to be a country where so many men, and especially so many women, in these hard economic times do not know if they will ever work again. indeed, americans are feeling

this terrible economic tension and pain. it has been a rough decade or so. 9/11 changed our conception of physical security. the crisis of 2008 changed our conception of economic prosperity, and the past four years have been very tough on folks who just want to work hard and make a living. when i was a little girl i remember my grandfather saying to my mother, angelina, you and john have to buy a house as soon your home never goes down. but americans have watched as this most prized asset, the value of their home, has indeed gone down. many americans out of work wonder if they will ever work again. they have reason to worry where jobs are being created so slowly.

the longer you are out of work, the less likely you are to find a job. when mitt romney and paul ryan country back to work, this is an urgent call, not one for which we can wait another four years. [applause] but you know as important as it is for us to pay our bills and not take on debt that we cannot afford, as important as it is to get people's sense of hope again, i want to make one other argument. i want to say one other thing. when you are secretary of state you get to go around the world and see what this great country means to the world. you get to see what people do not particularly like about us, but you also get to see how admired america is for its central belief that it does not matter where you came from, it

matters where you are going. look to the united states for strength. they look to the united states to keep the peace, and by the way, we have to be eternally grateful that we have men and women in uniform who volunteer, they volunteer -- [applause] and we have kept the strength, the peace through strength, but we also give the world hope so that people have come here from all over the world to be a part of the belief that it does not matter where you came from but matters where you are going. people here have never been trapped in their view of class

as a prison. we have never been envious of one another, and we have certainly never been envious of one another's success. [applause] instead, we of been a country of opportunity and hope. as i stand here at this wonderful university i am reminded that so much of that sense of opportunity and hope and possibility comes with a good education that can transform who you are and what you might be. i have to tell you, we all have our family heroes, and one of mine and ours is my grandfather on my father's side, a man named john wesley rice senior. when he was a sharecropper's son in alabama, he decided he was going to get book learning in a college.

he asked people, how could a colored man go to college? he said they have this little presbyterian college 30 miles from here. you could go there. he went for one year. he said i am out of cotton, so you are out of luck. my grandfather said, so how are those boys going to college? he said they have what you call a scholarship. he said if you want to be a presbyterian minister, you can get a scholarship, too. my grandfather said that is exactly what i have in mind. [applause] and my family has been college educated and presbyterian ever sense. the transforming power of education that these young people are experiencing here at this fine university is a wonderful thing of itself, but i want them when they leave here to be able to take part in

the prosperity of an economy that works the way you and i do. that is also what this election is about, and that is being watched across the world, because america needs to lead from strength and needs to lead from values and principles, and america needs to feel confident in values and principles so that we want to lead. [applause] that principle that it does not matter where you came from, it matters where you are going has always meant we are not the people that were constantly aggreived. we did not give way to aggreivement to our brother's entitlement, why don't they give me -- [applause]

instead, no matter our circumstances at birth, we believe the that with a chance we would succeed. we might not be able to control our circumstances, but we could control our response and look at what we build for the united states of america. that is what this election is about. that is what this pivotal time in our history is about. that is why we are at a crossroads. we are at a crossroads in so many fronts. jobs for our people. yes, on equality for men and women to have the same opportunity to succeed. this is a powerful country that has been a powerful force for peace and liberty in this world. i want to see it be that way well into the future. sometimes it seems the task

before us is just too hard, but i want to remind you, as i said to the nation at the republican convention, that americans have had a way making the impossible seem inevitable in retrospect. the united states went against the greatest military power of the time. with one-third of the troops of the george washington dying of smallpox. and then we've fought the civil war, brother against brother. hundreds of thousands dead on both sides and we emerged a more perfect union. where i live, you think about in the covered wagons. they had to be optimistic, because they did not even know what was on the other side and kept going anyway. a girl grows up in alabama and cannot go to a movie theater or restaurant but her parents were convinced you could become president of the united states of america. she becomes secretary of state. [cheers and applause]

america has been the place that makes the impossible seem inevitable in retrospect. it took courage and vision, and that is why i am so proud to be here today, because i know we are all going to work very hard to make sure that vision and that leadership and that integrity that we see in mitt romney and paul ryan is available to america in these troubled times. [applause] and so it is a great honor and great privilege to ask to join from wisconsin and future vice president of the united states, paul ryan.

[cheers and applause] [cheers and applause] ♪ ♪ >> thank you. [applause] what an example.

if you want to see the embodiment of the american idea, look no further than this leader off of my right shoulder, condoleezza rice. [applause] if you want to see what a capable and consciences leader looks like from the buckeye state look no further than my left shoulder. i also want to say thank you to mary shaper. [applause]

look, b.w, thanks for hosting us here today. go jackets. we really appreciate it. [applause] the three of us get to go see the grounds later today. i got to tell you, here is one thing i wanted it, i want to meet joe thomas. this is a guy from our neck of the woods in wisconsin. i watched him play college ball. he is a fantastic tackle. a great guy. nice going last sunday. all right? [applause] i am a miami of ohio graduate. i remember during those years my friends from cincinnati and cleveland would not talk to each other at least twice a year, and it is great to see these old rivalries. didn't mitt romney do a great job for us last night?

[applause] you know, this is my second time following condoleezza rice. it is a little intimidating. a tough act to follow. mitt romney had a fantastic first debate. he laid out a vision for the country. we were able to cut through the clutter of all the 30-second attack ads and saw a leader. last night, same thing. cut through the clutter of all the attack ads, and what did we see? we saw a president offering not a single new idea on how to turn things around. we saw a president not offer a single idea or lesson learned from the failures of the last four years.

what we saw in mitt romney was a leader who has the solutions, ideas on how to turn this economy around. how to get people back to work, and how to get america back on the right track, and that is what we are going to do on november 6 right here in ohio. we are going to recognize the leadership and make mitt romney the next president of the united states. [cheers and applause] here is president obama's problem. his economic agenda failed not because it was stopped. it failed because it was passed. [laughter] he came in with one-party rule. the ability to do everything of his own choosing, and he did, and look at where we are right now. 23 million americans struggling to find work. we had a discussion about how women are faring in this economy last night. 5.5 million are still struggling for work in this economy.

a half-million more are unemployed today than when president obama was sworn in. 26 million are trapped in poverty, the highest rates in 17 years. we need to get people back to work. we need to get this economy turned around. the american idea is there. it has not gone away, but we have the wrong people and the wrong policies in place, and if we clear the way and go forward with a pro-active, pro-growth solution to the agenda mitt romney is talking about, we will get people back to work and out of poverty and back in the middle class. [applause] you know, somewhere out there on the horizon is a dream that you have for yourself, for your children.

lately too many people it seems like it is getting more distant. it is still there. we need leadership. thank you, ma'am. one of my favorite historians passed away a week ago. he would often say great leaders step up in the important moments. condoleezza rice just explained how important this very moment is. you see, this is not just an election where we are picking a president for four more years. it really does not matter what generation you come from, this is the most important election in your generation, because we are not just deciding who is going to be in washington for a few years, we are deciding what kind of country we going to be and what kind of people we are going to be.

the american idea is there. in a nutshell, it does not matter who you are, where you come from, under what circumstances you got here or were born, you could make the most of your life. the only thing limiting you in this free society and free economy is your own god-given talent and hard work and effort. [applause] you can be whatever you want to be in this country. we need to remove the barrier so people can have the right to rise. so people can get out of poverty and make the most of their lives. when you see these ideas coming from the president. when you see all the borrowing and spending and regulating and the money printing, it just does not work.

if you want to see what this movie looks like at the end of the movie, go home, turn on the tv and look at europe. they are already in a debt crisis. they have already kicked the can so far down the road there is no more road to kick the can down. here is what happened. generations of politicians made a lot of empty promises to voters to get elected, and now that the debt crisis has hit them, those promises are broken promises. they are slashing health and retirement benefits for current retirees, cranking up taxes, going into recession. young people have no opportunities. the youth unemployment rate is about 20%. in greece and spain it is over 50 percent. right now, look at this great institution we are at. right now half of college graduates are either not working in the sector they trained for or even working at all. that is unacceptable. we do not have to settle for this. this may be the best president obama can give us, but it is not the best we can give ourselves. [applause]

and what history shows is the qualities that make a great leader at this kind of moment are these. a person with a moral compass. a person with a bedrock of principles. a person with a vision for the future and the ability and skills to execute the vision. ladies and gentlemen, that is mitt romney. that is exactly what we saw last night. that is exactly what we saw two weeks ago, and exactly the man we will see on november the seventh. [applause] this is a man who has succeeded in some areas where others have failed. this is a man where when his country calls and asks him to help support the olympics in turnaround, he did that.

this is a man who throughout his career has learned exactly what it takes to create jobs. turning around struggling businesses. starting successful businesses. businesses we know like sports authority, staples, steel dynamics. by the way, being successful in business is a good thing. there is nothing wrong with that. that is something we all take pride in. we do not envy other people's success, we want to emulate other people's success. we want more people to become successful. that is freedom. that is free enterprise. that is the american dream. [applause] so when we see a president speak to our darker emotions of fear, envy, and anxiety, that is not what we do in this country. that is not how you win elections. you see the president cannot run

on his record. it is a terrible record. we have a debt crisis staring us in the face, and he is given us nothing with for budgets with trillion dollar deficits every year and no solutions. we have so many people struggling to find work. 5.5 million people stopped trying. if we actually count those people who stopped looking for work, the unemployment rate would be closer to 11%. we can do better than this. when mitt romney was governor of massachusetts -- this is a republican governor of a democratic state, 87 percent of

the legislature he served with were democrats. did he demean them or ridicule them? no. he met with them every monday and he found common ground and got things done. he balanced the budget without raising taxes. he lowered unemployment. the bond rating went up. unemployment went down. that is precisely the kind of leadership we need today. [applause] you look at what the president is proposing. he basically has one new idea, raise taxes even more. raise taxes on successful small businesses so we are taxing at over 40 percent. we are not -- our competitors overseas are taxing at 25% or less. here in the midwest where we come from, here in big 10 country most of the business comes from small businesses. most of the jobs come from small businesses. overseas where i come from means lake superior. the canadians just lowered their tax rate to 15%. he wants the tax rate on small businesses, the ones that create small businesses to go above 40? it does not even pay for 10% of his proposed deficit spending. all of this borrowing and interest is going to amount to a $4,000 tax increase on middle class families.

remember when he said if you are in the middle income you make less than $250,000 per year, no tax increases? of the 21 tax increases in obamacare, 12 hit the middle class. he said he would cut the deficit in half in four years. wrong. he said he would bring people together to solve the country's biggest problems. look, the other day on tv the president said i cannot change washington from inside. [laughter] isn't that why we elect presidents? if he cannot change washington, it is time we change presidents. [applause]

what mitt and i owe you is a really clear choice. that is our obligation. it is not enough for us to complain or criticize, but to offer solutions. you heard that last night. in our five-point plan are specific solutions to get people back to work, to get the economy reaching its potential, to create 12 million jobs. we have so much energy right here in ohio, let's use the energy and create jobs. [applause] let's help the workers in between jobs get the skills they need and help the kids in our with their lives.oso ty can getn

cut spending. balance the budget and stop the washington knows best and we can keep spending money we do not have. let's champion small businesses. this is bigger than that. this is not just getting jobs. it is not just creating energy. it is bigger than that. america, it is an idea. it is not just a country with a flag. it is not just wisconsin or ohio or california or maine, it is an idea. you know, it is the only country founded on an idea. the idea is really clear. thomas jefferson said it so well in the declaration of independence. our rights come from nature and nature's god, not from government. that is the answer to the american idea. [applause]

our founders established this. i see cheese heads all over. it makes me hungry sometimes when i see that. i see veterans here. the veterans of this country put on the uniform and serve our nation and secured each and every generation, and we thank them for that. [applause] please do not forget early voting. ohians have a unique responsibility. you are the battleground of the battleground states. you are used to it. you know this. that is why you are here. you have a unique responsibility and opportunity and obligation to make sure that we secure our future, that we look back at this moment as the moment we got things right.

winston churchill probably said it best. the americans can be counted upon to do the right thing, but only after they have exhausted all the other possibilities. [laughter] i kind of think of that as the moment we are at right now. mitt romney and i are pledging this. we will reclaim the principles that made us great. we will lead and fix this mess in washington. we do not want to spend the next four years blaming others. we are going to take responsibility. [applause] of all things we are not going to try to transform this country into something was never intended to be. we will not replace our founding principles.

we will reapply our founding principles. we have leaders ready to lead. we're not going to need to be saved. we a country headed in the wrong direction that can be taken on the right track. it is not too late to get this done thank you so much for coming out today. thank you for what you have done. do not forget the early vote. thank you everybody. thank you so much. appreciate it. [applause] [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2012] >> we have come too far to turn back now. the american people have worked too hard. the last thing we can afford to do right now is to go back to the very same policies that got us into this mess in the first place. i cannot allow that to happen. i will not allow it to happen. that is why i am running for a second term as president of the united states. >> the middle-class is getting crushed because incomes are down. at the same time, gasoline

prices are up. but prices are up. health insurance premiums are off. it is really tough being middle- class even if you have a job. we will work to create more jobs and more take-home pay. that is why we are in this race. we need a strong america so we can provide for our families and the future of this great country 3 >> watch and engage monday as president obama and mitt romney meet in their final debate in booker baton, florida. the debate previews are the 7:00 p.m. eastern and erie action at 10:30. online at c-span.org. >> see the presidential debate monday night, live on c-span, c- span radio and online at c- span.org. over the next three hours, senate debates about the country, beginning with

candidates in florida senator bill nelson, a democrat, and his republican challenger, congressman connie mack. in an hour, kirsten gilli brand and wendy long." several live advance to tell you about tomorrow. the former head of israel's intelligent 80 speaks at the wilson center, a middle east policy and security. on c-span2 at noon eastern puritan live at georgetown university press secretary clinton's speech on u.s. foreign policy. >> there is a movie theater that i write about. i went to visit it. it has been there since 1947,

the founding year of the country. it showed films from all of the world from the united states, england, bollywood in india. to me it symbolized the resilience of the country and the openness of the country, in spite of all the trauma people suffered in the past decade in pakistan. during one of the protests against a video that until to the prophet mohammad ahmad people turned against the movie theater. and burn them. i do not se that as a protest against the west. or the united states. even though "avatar" was one of the movies you could've seen at this theater. you have islamist activists who had not liked these movie theaters for decades with before

the profit mohammed film, which was never shown in them anyway. so the captain opportunity to attack. and they whipped up a bunch of young people. there were teenagers involved who stole sodas on the snack bar on the way to burn the the movie theater. i argue in that piece that what they were really attacking was the nature of their own country, which perhaps they did not understand. i try to sit up with the greatest respect. who am i as a coroner to save your country is about -- i try to say that with the greatest respect. who am i as a foreigner to say that. to different cultures, but the different traditions, lots of different ways to be. the movie theater symbolize pakistan and that is what people burned when they set it on fire. >> more but the author and npr host sunday at 8:00 on q&a.

>> first debate between the candidates for senate in florida, senator bill nelson, a democrat, and his republican challenger, congressman connie mack. this debate is about an hour. >> i am honored to have the joining us from across the state of florida and our live audience this night. the format is simple -- each candidate will be asked a question in alternate fashion. each will have one minute and 15 seconds to respond. they then will be allowed at my discretion up to 30 seconds of rebuttal. we will move on to other questions. we will break into economic and

domestic policy, and later, questions specific to the gentlemens' records, and finally foreign policy and national security. we thank you for being with us. i would like to introduce our veteran panelist joining us today -- reporters from south florida and around the sunshine state. anthony mann, political reporter, lisette campos, from tampa, and toluse olorunnipa, tallahassee-based political reporter for "the miami herald." we begin with opening statements -- congressmen mack goes first for one minute. >> good evening. i am a proud mainstream conservative.

i grew up and was born right here in florida with florida values. there is a clear choice between senator nelson and me. bill nelson cast the deciding vote to cut $700 billion out of your medicare to pay for obamacare. i voted against obamacare. bill nelson -- he voted to gut our military. i voted to strengthen our military. bill nelson voted for higher taxes, 150 times. 150 times. i voted to cut taxes. i have a simple litmus test. if you voted for higher taxes 150 times, it is time for you to go. the liberals in washington turn to government to solve the very problems that they treated in the first place. what made our nation great is not our government. it is you -- the american people. i look forward to tonight's debate. >> thank you. now senator bill nelson -- one minute. >> thank you for this debate. i am looking forward to pointing at what the truth as, because

everything that the congressman has just said is not true. that is part of the problem in our politics today -- it is so polarized. it is so excessively partisan. it is so ideologically rigid, this idea, it is my way or no way. the way you run the government of the united states is to respect the other fellow's point of view, you reach across the partisan divide, and to bring people together and build a bipartisan consensus. i will show you in the course of this debate how i have been able to do that. i will show you that what the congressman said was not true. let the debate began. >> thank you to both candidates. through this debate, he was here a reference to the statewide poll. it is the leadership florida sunshine state survey.

it came up with a lot of interesting results as we polled you across florida. let's take a look -- we were asked, what is the most important issue facing florida today? the top three answers -- 44% said the economy. 6%, education. 5%, crime and drugs. you'll hear about the service throughout the next hour. let's have the questioning began. the first question goes to congressman mack and will come from anthony mann. >> politicians love to talk tough on spending, but can you name a single program or item that benefits the residents of florida that you think needs to be cut to help balance the budget in these tough times? >> thank you for the question. this goes to the heart of what this debate should be about.

it is about spending. in washington d.c., we have been on a spending spree. we have seen year after year, the last four years, we have added $1 trillion to new debt every year. some of us, myself included, believe we need to cut spending, that we need to rein in our debt and deficits. senator nelson serves on the budget committee, and for almost four years has failed to pass a budget. why is that significant? that is significant because if you want to control spending, you have to have a budget. the reason you have a budget at home, the reason you have a budget in your business, is so you can control spending. the senator sits on the budget committee and as bill to pass a budget in almost four years. the question was, what would i cut? there are a lot of things -- you can go to my website, and we have a list of things we would cut. let me tell you this -- we do not continue to fund amtrak. i think pbs is something else we can look at cutting. when you continue to borrow 40 cents on every dollar -- >> senator nelson -- one minute, 15.

>> right off the bat i have to explain that what he said about the budget is not true. not only did we pass the budget, we passed it in lot last year -- law last year. this was not a budget resolution. this was an actual act signed into law by the president and, as a matter of fact, it set the course of categories of spending for two years, not one year. when you look at spending cuts, you know there is something known as tax expenditures. it is called tax loopholes. that is, basically loopholes that go out to special interests. if we are going to reform the tax code, we can go in and start taking out a lot of them.

give you an example -- how about $40 billion to come out of the oil industry? how about another -- here is a good one -- $11.5 billion to come from not letting bp deduct their cleanup expenses? those of this two examples. >> 30 second rebuttal -- strict 30 seconds. >> senator nelson, what you just said is not true. the people of this they deserve the truth. what frightens me is you does -- serve on the budget committee, and you apparently do not understand that we failed to pass a budget. you talk about loopholes, which is interesting. senator, you put some cows on your farm to avoid paying taxes. you tell anybody else to avoid doing it, but it is ok for you.

$40,000 that could have gone for teachers. >> 30 seconds. >> check the record -- the budget control act. i would like to have an opportunity, and i cannot do it in 20 seconds, there have been cows on that property for 60 years. when i was a little boy raising my 4h club project. i will expand on that later. >> our next question from lisette campos -- that question with the one minute, 15 second response for each will be directed to senator nelson first. >> this question is for senator nelson -- my question is about job creation. in the statewide survey michael referred to earlier in the broadcast, the statewide poll, participants gave the lowest marks to our state when it came to a job creation.

more than 51% of people surveyed said florida is doing a poor job. why you feel you are more equipped and your opponent to tackle this issue? >> we have a long way to go. think where we came from. this time in a 2008, we were going into a financial death spiral. the stock market collapsed. a massive job layoffs. and that occurred for a year- and-a-half. then, for the last 31 straight months, we have had private sector job growth. what we see today is the increase of the housing market, housing -- the new starts in fact are up 33% in florida.

it is slow, it is not fast enough, but it is happening. the economy is going to be reflective of a good shot in the arm of confidence if the congress can come together and pass a budget plan which i want to lay out for you, in large part with income tax code reform. i started part of it in my answer and i will get to it later. >> congressman mack? >> senator nelson, we agree -- we are waiting for you to pass a budget. it has been almost four years since you pass a budget in the united states senate. what is interesting to me is that there are a lot of floridians who are suffering right now, who are hurting. they are looking for work. almost 830,000 people out of work. many have quit even looking for

work, senator nelson. you have painted this picture that this does not exist. i am not sure which florida you are talking about. there are people who are losing their homes, who are still losing their homes. this economy is not one that is working. there is a small business in my district that wanted to expand. a boat building business. it took 31 different permits and fees for them to be able to expand before they could hire the first full-time employee. this is a government out of control. if you want to give entrepreneurs and risk takers back in the game, you have to lower taxes, not raise taxes like you have over 150 times. you need to reduce regulation. the need to be upfront with people and tell them that, look, these are difficult times, but we are going to put our faith and trust in you, the american people, not more government. >> let's move along to the next question -- senator? 30 seconds for each. strict 30. >> it is just not true.

here is the 150 tax votes he is talking about -- that is simply not true. outside, a fact check organizations have said it is not true. you have not talked about all of the tax cuts that i voted for. when we start talking about this, let's talk about all of your missed votes this year. when you show up it is even worse because you try to take that medicare and social security. >> congressman mack? 30 seconds. >> your propensity to vote for higher taxes 150 times is shocking, absolutely shocking. if you voted for higher taxes 150 times, it is time for you to go. the question was about job creation -- if you are going to continue to raise taxes and the very people we are relying on to create jobs, they do not have the money to invest if you keep taking it into washington.

if you continue with regulations, they cannot grow. let's put our faith and trust back in the people of this country. >> next question -- it will first be addressed to congressman mack. >> let's talk about medicare. a new study out this week says that the romney-ryan premium support plan for medicare would raise the cost of health care for seniors by about $200 per month. under obamacare, medicare is scheduled to go insolvent in 12 years. how do we protect medicare for florida's 3 million seniors and save it for the next generation without massive slashes and cuts in benefits? >> thank you for the question. this is an important question. i think a lot of people who are watching this have -- they are wondering what is happening to medicare.

by the way, this is not an entitlement. this is something people have paid into. this is something they have earned. this is something that is theirs. it is something they have been saving for and working on for a long time. senator nelson cast the deciding vote to cut $700 billion out of medicare. at what the senator nelson said before the vote? he said it is unconscionable to whack away medicare advantage from our seniors, but that is exactly what he did. i agree -- it is unconscionable. over 1 million seniors in the state of florida on medicare advantage, because of your vote, your vote, they will lose their medicare advantage. you talk a good game and say things like, i successfully offered an amendment. you can successfully offer all the amendments you want -- it did not pass. but you still voted for it. you call it unconscionable and a nonstarter. the president said he needed

your vote. you chose the president over the people of florida. >> i will not -- let you get away with this. $716 billion was in fact savings that extended the life of medicare for eight years. medicare was going to run out in three years. let's talk about some of his medicare vote. he voted to cut medicare by taking away the guaranteed benefit and replacing it with a voucher that a senior citizen would have to negotiate with an insurance company. >> about 35 seconds -- go ahead.

>> how much time? >> about a minute left, senator. >> social security. he voted to partially privatize social security by putting in the vagaries of the stock market. he has a plan that would at this rate medicare. over $1 trillion out of social security. we are going to release tonight the impartial, nonpartisan congressional research service study that shows how we absolutely savages medicare, social security and $3 trillion out of defense. that is what his penney plan is. >> congressman? 30 seconds. >> senator nelson, you know better than that. you can call that savings, you can call it taking the money or anything you want.

you cut $700 billion which he said would be unconscionable and i agree with you. the problem is when the president said to you i need your vote, you chose to stand with the president like you do 98% of the time instead of standing with the people of the state of florida. you whacked away at the medicare advantage and you should explain that to them. >> 30 seconds. >> that is just it. it is not a cut. as a matter of fact, all of the fact checkers say it is not a cut.

it is savings. it did not come from the medicare beneficiaries. if king and the providers, in some cases -- it came from the providers. my state with about unconscionable but not protected florida by exempting out medicare advantage for florida until we got the correct formula that would reward our seniors. it is one of the most wildly successful programs right now. within moments of and premiums down. >> quick rebuttal. question from the moderator. every household has to prioritize. social security, medicaid, defense take up six out of every 10 federal dollars. you have made a pledge, no new taxes. which would you cut first and most in 1, 2, and 3 order? 30 seconds for you and then you, senator nelson. >> thank you for the question. that is not the choice we will have to make. >> i understand. here is what you're going to do. we are going to make sure that job creators get back into the game. if you want more revenue to come up into the federal government, you put people back to work.

the best economic engine behalf is the american people. they want to compete. they want to strive for the american dream. you do that by getting them back to work. not by raising taxes. >> senator, 30 seconds. >> you can cut the medicare has to be saved. that is what we did. people say what you going to do about medicare? we already did something about medicare. we extended its life for another eight years. until 2024. if you want a cut, i will give you an example. defense, you can take some of our troops out of europe. that was an old cold war strategy. that will save us billions. >> the welcome back to budget and deficit questions. this question will be directed to senator nelson to request what should be done about the fiscal cliff coming on december 31?

it would bring huge tax increases and deep spending cuts. >> it is not going to happen. sequestration was never intended to happen. think back to what happened. we had an artificial debt ceiling that this country, it were not raised a year ago, we could not have paid our bills. so a budget agreement was put together. the was a cut of $1 trillion of the top. then there was a super committee of six from the house and six from the senate to reach a bipartisan agreement.

the mechanism was like a guillotine over their heads. it would been so onerous that they would come to agreement. all you needed was one. deadlocked 6 to 6. that activated the sequestration. what will happen is after the election, we will go back, i can tell you over half of the senate bipartisan is ready to put together that comprehensive plan, part of which i explained in an earlier question, where you can do cuts but you can get revenue from the tax loopholes lower everybody's tax rates and then have room to lower the deficit. >> thank you, sir. 1:15, congressman mack. >> this is a great question. this shows the ec one thing to the people florida and you do something else in washington, d.c.. you said we can't do sequestration. it will hurt our military. because of your vote on sequestration, you cut by $20 billion out of defense.

you gutted our military. you continue to send foreign aid to countries that do not support the united states of america. i find it interesting that you keep talking about medicare and see crustacean. you voted to take $700 billion out of medicare. it is a fact. to pay for obamacare. you voted to gut our military through sequestration. i cannot vote for sequestration. it was a dumb idea. we should have never done that. i think what is important here is that you can either have someone who tells you one thing but then votes with barack obama 98% of the time. make sure that we put florida first. we protect and save medicare. not gut it. >> senator? 1:15.

>> congressman, you are repeating the same lines over and over. would you voted against a year ago was ever going to let this country go into the false where it could not pay its bills. obviously the country could not do that. therefore, we had to try to get a bipartisan budget agreement. you were in the significant minority voting against that budget agreement. speaking of votes, why don't you explain how you do not show up to work? why don't you explain how this year you have one of the worst voting records. i have missed one vote this year, you have missed 178. and when you do show up the vote, it is even worse. one of the votes he missed was the paul ryan plan.

that was the second paul ryan plan your ast would you support it, you said yes. a later interview, he said it was stupid it was no. then your folks corrected you and you changed your position again. so why don't you explain to people why he missed all of these votes. >> let me make sure i do this clear for you. i will keep talking about this because these are your votes and you cannot run on them. you said i am in the minority. i might be in the minority with your kind in washington but i stand in the majority with the people of this state and country. as far as my voting record, i have a 94% voting record. you have been 92% voting record. last year, i cast 430 votes. you cast less than 200. you have a lot of explaining to do. >> how can you argue with someone who does completely pulls it out? he would have you think that i voted half the time because he voted -- 400 and i voted 203 >> we will have to take a break.

back in a moment with more of the debate. welcome back to our florida senate debate on the campus of nova southeastern university. ms. campos, your question is directed to congressman mack. >> congressman mack, it seems when politicians address women issues, the campaign ads focus on abortion rights, control, and yet advocate in florida tell us domestic violence is the single most important issue that affects women. the cdc says one in every four women will face some form of domestic violence in their lifetime.

the violence against women act has been allowed to expire. advocates in florida are asking that we -- it be reauthorize. what is your position on that? >> i am honored and proud to have with me tonight three women that are very special to me. my wife, my mother who is here and the star of our new commercials, and my daughter. the idea that someone would harm anyone of them or anyone is disgusting. we need to do all we can to protect them. we also need to do all we can to make sure that they have an opportunity. i think about my daughter. will it be like when she gets older and graduates to college, you are going to college, after you graduate college -- i want to make sure she has a good job.

women are worried about jobs and security. and being secure at home and making sure their children are taken care of. and that they put food on the table. like i said, i into the question. i did answer the question. what would you reauthorize the violence against women act? >> yes. >> senator nelson. 1:15. >> we ought -- i have already voted for it. we cannot get the votes to break the filibuster in the senate. but i think we should ask further -- why did the congressman vote against the ledbetter bill that fought for equal pay for equal work for women. >> focusing on domestic violence and specifically for these programs. you voted for it with changes, it earmarks for sexual assault. the advocates in florida are

asking for the reauthorization with no changes. they say each state would be better suited to determine funding based on each state's needs. >> i will certainly look at a change there but we have to get it out of the senate and we could not get the 60 votes. violence is not -- isn't rape violence? congressman mack voted to redefine rape as forcible rape. it is clear he stands on women's issues. >> let's move on to the next question. >> what he said it not true and we cannot let -- senator, i you need to do a better job of explaining your own record because you're messing up mine.

apparently you are looking at somebody else. it is a shame. the people of the state of florida are tired of you saying one thing to them and then going back to washington and voting with barack obama 98% of the time. they are tired of that. they want you to look them in the eyes and tell them what you are going to do for them instead of what we will do for barack obama. >> is that the only line that you memorize? [laughter] >> let me tell you that violence against women -- for you not to have produced it in the house where we were trying to produce it in the senate is -- here we are in 2012. it is true, you voted for a redefinition of rape as forcible rape. it seems to me that rape is rape. >> we will move on to the next question now. the slump will be directed first -- this one as a senator nelson

predicts there are more delinquent mortgages in florida than any other state. you supported the present housing initiatives but most of them have fallen short of expectations. what would you do and why should people vote for you if they are about to lose their homes when you have been in office during the worst housing crisis in recent history? >> florida was the one that really got hit the hardest along with a few other states. because of our economy being so dependent upon housing and construction and real estate. in number programs have been tried. some of them have been successful. let me tell you one that has been successful right now. it is going to allow 8 million people nationally to refinance their mortgages from 6.5% down

in to the 4 % how but the connected the bank to do it because the mortgages were under water -- they could not get the banks to do it because the mortgages were under water. these mortgages that are held by fannie and freddie are now being refinanced so the homeowner on the $200,000 mortgage will save a total of 5000 a year in interest. that is a successful program and it is going on right now. >> it is important that we understand what is happening here in the housing market. let me talk to you about a friend of mine who lost his job.

he could not pay the bills. so he tried to use one of those new plants that barack obama and senator nelson passed. you know what he was told? before we can help you, you have to default on your loan. he does not want to default on the loan. it is against what he believes in. after all wild when he ran out of savings, he had to default on his loan predicted the program periodicity default on your loan, we cannot help you. -- on his loan. they changed the plan and said when you default on your loan, we cannot help you. small community banks are afraid to lend money because he will shut them down. we talk about small businesses, the housing market. it is simple -- small banks want to lend money but if you put dodd frank on top of them, they are afraid he will put them out of business. that is not a way to get this economy going or help people stay in their homes.

>> we will move on to anthony mann. >> congressman, you had made clear you oppose obamacare and want to repeal it. would you maintain the parts popular but the public? no exclusions for pre-existing conditions, allowing young adults today on their parents' insurance, close in the medicare doughnut hole. how would you pay for them? >> thank you very much. i think most people recognize that obamacare must be repealed. this is a law, by the way, that was invented this bipartisanship. not one republican supported it. the american people do not support it. we need to repeal obamacare. here is why. not only do we not want a government run health care system that has an unelected board making decisions about people's health care decisions, we also did not want to whack away medicare advantage from our seniors.

but there are things we can be moving forward. one of the things we can do is association helped plan. let's say a small restaurant with 14 employees -- they can be part of the florida restaurant association, use that association to pull their buying power together to afford insurance. pre-existing conditions is something i think we can cover as well. but we will do first is repeal obamacare. if you want to get top leaders back into the game, you cannot -- those fees and taxes on top of small businesses trying to grow. there are rest are groups out -- restaurant groups out there who are having to change their entire business plan. to deal with obamacare. >> senator. 1:15. >> there you go again. same message. the void of specifics devoid of specifics. do you trust the independent fact checkers? factcheck.org, the school at the university of pennsylvania?

they said everything that he said is not correct. and then when you look at the need to have something done with medicare, it is going to run out in three years if you repeal obamacare. it is going to end october of 2015 -- 2013. it will run out of money. that was one of the major reasons of passing a reform of medicare and health care system. what about the three and a half million people in florida that do not have health insurance?

we want to get them into the health insurance system and that is why the health insurance exchanges are being set up in 2014. >> senator, techie very much. we will be back in a moment. back now to our us senate debate. a quick rebuttal question. 30 seconds each. then be moved to foreign policy. the average american owes $51,000. g to pay offgoin t the debt tomorrow. we collected $2.50 trillion in revenue last year. senator, why isn't that enough? why do you want taxes to up up? >> i do not. >> you want to close the bush era tax cuts. >> $14 trillion over ten years in tax loopholes. it has grown to the last time i voted for tax reform under president reagan.

>> congressman mack, a brief question. >> here we go again. senator nelson is telling everyone else in the to get rid of tax loopholes but he has taken a vintage of one himself. úpp0úúúp0úpúúúúúú0

this proposed casino would put that in doubt. i have to say that in general with ne american issues, america has made a lot of progress in recent years providing ability for economic development on native american indian reservations. when i was a boy, had a great privilege of playing basketball with nez perce. i was the only non native american person on the team, almost, and we want to the nationals. i thought at a young age being different than it everybody else in a competitive environment like that helped my formation and led me to want to learn more about other cultures. i think you would find me as someone who has great sympathy and a great understanding of the issues, but i don't think this casino is the right maneuver in that area of washington right now. >> senator cantwell? >> i have been very concerned that as indian gaming increases across america that we don't have reservations shopping.

that is why we have supported stronger rules to maturities rules are outlined. this tribe has to go through a process and procedure. i have no idea whether they meet the requirements or not, but it is important follow the process and the community and everyone around them have a say. i know there are concerns about fairchild. there are concerns from other business interests. if that is what a regional process is, i hope to make sure that process goes well. but i would like to go some rigid back to something. senator baumgartner is wrong, all of america went to war in iraq and afghanistan. if we support our troops. that they have served our country and we thank them. that is why i am working so hard when they come home to insure that have jobs. what is wrong is the notion that we think we cannot support them. my opponent said that he would not have voted for going to afghanistan, but then when it

came time to voting for the funds for afghanistan, he said he would not support that. that support was about standing up the afghan army so we can come home and afghanistan can take charge of their own responsibilities. >> the last coal-fired plant and the state is being shut down. it is being converted to natural gas. plans are to wait to build up to five coal terminals in the northwest to feed and asia. this seems like a contradiction. it is not ok to use coal, but it is okay to sell it. that ignores the reality that coal burned in china affects the planet just as much as coal burned here. where do you stand on the proposed coal terminals? >> i want to get off fossil fuels and diversify.

i think it would be better for the united states to pursue a policy of clean energy with china. if we have things we could work on together that will mean jobs for northwest companies to sell clean energy solutions to china. we already shipped them airplanes and sell them software and coffee. working together on clean energy solutions would be a great idea. i will make sure as this proposal moves forward around various communities and our state that we will make sure that questions are asked about the mitigation, the impact of these coal facilities. during that process, i hope that we will come up with the answers. if we don't, i am not sure that coal come in and of itself, should be the focus of moving forward. i want to emphasize, how much it is important and imperative that we continue to build into a structure for the u.s. to ship products to china specifically protect it may be that these terminals, these rail lines, this improved infrastructure would help us in having a quicker, faster railway to sell other products in the future.

>> i have a lot of concern about the coal trains, not least of which at the line would split in my own home district. we need to know the impact of this and the comprehensive impact. will the impact emergency response if we have more trains coming across and people cannot get across the train line? what will happen with the coal dust? will that impact health care? i want a thorough review and a clear understanding of that. but with the carbon in the atmosphere, china is going to burn coal whether we like it or not. that is a fact of life. if you don't want the chinese to do that, i would recommend that

you send a former diplomat to work on those issues, but i think we have to realize what the chinese are going to do. i certainly approve of the idea of greater energy independence in america, which will require an all of the above approach and require more development of natural resources here. that is connected to getting our troops out of the middle east, making us less dependent on wars and foreign dictators overseas, and very connected to our economy and balancing that debt to leave a better america for feature. i think natural resources need to be developed in america. >> it has been reported that a common practice among many local law enforcement agencies is to call the u.s. border patrol when a person is pulled over and can only speak spanish. immigrant rights groups say the border patrol agents don't just provide interpretation, they

often question and arrest people who are here without documentation. they say that such actions by the border patrol is often racial profiling, and it raises serious concerns about violations of the federal civil rights act. should this common practice continue? should this be the role of the u.s. border patrol? mr. baumgartner? >> the first thing we ought to do is teach more of our law enforcement officer spanish so they can communicate directly. i think that everybody should learn multiple languages in a global economy. my french is not as good as it used to be. one of the reasons i met my wife in afghanistan was because of the language she spoke. our immigration system needs a lot of work. it has been one of the failures of washington, d.c., at over 12 years because rather than solve it, it has been more opportunistic to use it as a wedge issue.

that is certainly the case with this issue. our borders need to be secured, but they should not be brought in here to deal with petty criminals. that is something law enforcement should do directly. >> this is an important issue about balancing privacy rights and security issues. we all know of the case of the terrace trunk 2, over the canadian border into our state. it was good border control security that stopped him. what we need to do is make sure that around our borders -- and we have had problems in port angeles, of people stopping and pulling individuals over when they do not even know what agencies or organizations they represent. i intervened to make sure local law enforcement was working with agents. this is an important issue. we want the privacy rights of individuals in the northwest to be respected.

we want there is civil rights to be respected. we also want good security. having local law enforcement communicating with the border control is very important and we will continue to make sure that was done. >> that was the final question. we will move on to closing statements. we began with senator cantwell. >> thank you very much. thank you to everyone here. i thank my nephew who is here. -- actually, two nephews who are here. my nephew is looking for a job. it reminds me how much jobs and a the economy are what is important here.

that is why i have worked hard to help the fishing industry by coming up with a new process to create fishing jobs. i focused on aviation and as the chair of the aviation committee i will focus on making sure we remain the hub of the aerospace industry. we passed bipartisan legislation to invest and construction and other infrastructure. this is about whether we will continue to move forward on the types of job creation that our nation needs or whether we will try to balance the budget on the backs of our seniors. i will not do that. i am not for the rise in the plan for getting social security. i know if we invest in the

american worker, our economy will be strong. just like 50 years ago when we opened the space needle, we can have optimism and opportunity. it is not the policies of a tea party that will get us there that want to filibuster congress. i am asking for your support. i will continue to work hard from spokane to southwest washington and in various parts of our state. i am asking for your help to fight for these policies in washington, d.c. to make sure we get the job done. >> thank you. i want to thank the moderators, the league of women voters, and it t why senator cantwell for being here. i wish we could do more.

we have not had the opportunity for more debates, but i have appreciated this opportunity here. campaigns should not be about who has the most money or who wears what particular political hat. the crisis is too important. it is about who has the best ideas and solutions. i think you have a good idea of what you will get from senator cantwell if you send her back. you will get the same you had the last 12 years. i have traveled all around this great mother earth of ours and this great country, and i know america is exceptional. it does not mean we do not have things to improve on and we can not learning from other countries, but we are still exceptional. that is because we always leave things better in america for the next generation. that is not happening right now. all of the dead and partisanship, these wars that have not been funded, the lack of a smarter foreign policy in the middle east -- i do not want to see that happen. with your vote, we can get somebody who will strongly speak his mind, strongly be a voice of independent leadership. it will not be about whether i am a republican or democrat, but doing what is right.

i think together we can solve this challenge, we can solve the debt crisis by real ideas. if we do that, we will continue what makes america so exceptional. we will leave a better america for your children and grandchildren. i am senator baumgartner, thank you for being here. >> week thank you both for being here. that is all the time we have for this debate it. >> you can get more information by going to kcts9.org/vote2012. >> i would like to thank the league of women voters in washington. thank you to our studio audience and thank you to the candidates who joined us today. please give them another round of applause. [applause]

>> thank you at home for joining us. >> we will see you next time. [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2012] [captioning performed by national captioning institute] >> several live senate debates. republican linda mcmahon and democratic congressman chris murphy face off in their fourth debate. they are running for the speed -- for the seat of joe lieberman. another senate race that is a tossup as in virginia. at 7:00 p.m. eastern, we will be live from virginia tech university for the debate between george allen and tim kane. this debate is courtesy of wsls tv. tommy thompson will face tammy

baldwin in the second debate for the u.s. senate marmite. this debate is also rated a toss up by the political report. our live coverage is at 8:00 p.m. eastern. >> there is a movie theater i write about. it has been there since 1947, the founding year of the country. it had shown film from all of the world, the united states, england, bollywood, india. to me it symbolized the resilience of the country and the openness of the country in spite of all the violence and trouble people suffered over the last many decades in pakistan. during one of the protests against a video that insult to the profit mohammed, people

turned against the movie theaters. and burn them. i do not see that as a protest against the west. or the united states, even though "avatar" was one of the movies you could have seen at the theater. you had islamist activists who had not liked the movie theaters for decades. david for the profit mohammed film, which was never shown in them anyway. so they kept an opportunity to attack and whipped up a bunch of young people. there were teenagers involved who stole sodas from the snack bar. i argue in that piece that what they really attacking was the nature of their own country which perhaps they did not understand. i try to set up with the greatest respect. who am i as a foreigner to sit with your country is about three but i do know from having

studied the history that pakistan is an incredibly divorce pace -- diverse place. lots of different cultures and traditions. lots of different ways to be. that movie theater symbolize pakistan's and that is what people burned when they set on fire. >> more on sunday at 8:00 on q&a. >> it starts as an economic argument. men are having a hard time adapting to the economy and women are adapting more easily. i cannot tell you why they're different times in history where men have adapted more easily. then it is education and credentials. the economy is fast changing. women seem to be getting those skills and credentials of a much faster rate than men. they seem to be more nimble. that filters down into our society. in the book, i talk about how

that changes marriage and our notions of a father hood and what men can and cannot do it and the families and how young people have sex and make decisions. you really start to see it having an influence in our culture. >> she joint author hanna rosen to discuss the end of men on afterwards. speaking on c-span-2's "book tv." >> to the presidential debate monday night live on c-span, c- span radio and online at c- span.org. in a few moments, campaign events from a round the country, including paul ryan in ohio, joined by former secretary of state condoleezza rice. in a little more than half hour, a mitt romney event in virginia, followed by president obama campaigning in iowa.

on washington journal this morning, how the presidential campaigns are appealing to female voters. we will also discuss the role of women voters. and matthew cooper of national journal daily with issues facing congress the rest of the year, including the so-called fiscal cliff and how the result of the presidential race will affect the congressional agenda. washington journal is live on c- span every day at 7:00 a.m. eastern. several live a best to tell you about today. -- live events to tel you about thoday. at noon eastern. then at 3:30, the brookings institution hosts kofi annan

talking about his career. >> hello. >> paul ryan campaigned wednesday in a high along with former secretary of state condoleezza rice. in her first official campaign appearance for the gop ticket. this is a little more than an hour and a half. >> we have a live audience which includes members of the league of women voters.

>> great to be back. great to be here at baldwin wallace. great to be here with the yellow jackets. i think there is a certain buzz right now in ohio. are you ready to win? [applause] i have been all over the state. we have eight rallies. i was at victory centers -- everywhere i go, i get a feeling something is going on in the state of ohio. the momentum is moving. thank you for all your doing. keep it up. we have to do all we can because we have to win, don't we? we simply cannot afford another four years like the last four. i will ask you today -- because ohio was so important, and as they say, so goes ohio, so goes the country. think about it -- have you done absolutely everything you can, and will you in the next 20 days to everything you can to insure a romney-ryan victory to take back ohio and the country? had he made phone calls for mitt and paul? have you put up any signs? have you gone door-to-door? did you get your absentee ballot applications today? every single person here got one

-- if you have not already voted early or filled out that the application, do it. let's thank those votes. you can vote right after this rally. they're open 8:00 to 5:00 every day, including today. will you vote early? we want to back those votes. if you vote early, you are free on election day to help other people to the polls. commit to mitt -- vote early. [applause] we saw last night in that debate why it is so important we do everything we possibly can over the next 20 days, didn't we? we saw barack obama come out swinging. he promised he would take the new approach. there was going to be a new style -- and there was. but even though he had a new, different, aggressive style, he still had the same failed record and the same failed policies and when that was pointed out by mitt romney he could not defend

them. didn't you think mitt romney did a great job last night? [cheers and applause] mitt romney not only talked about the failed record and that president obama has not offered anything new for the next four years, but he laid out a vision for america. that is what people want to hear. they want to hear the next four years can be better. we can be sure we let these guys to turn this thing around and get our country back on track. [applause] mitt romney has a terrific partner in paul ryan, doesn't he? [applause] that mission that mitt romney laid out last night -- there is no more articulate spokesman of it and paul ryan, talking about it every day.

he is smart. he is in this for the right reasons. he understands america faces serious problems and they are no laughing matter. that is why he did so well in his debate compared to joe biden. [applause] representing you in a united states senate, i cannot wait to work with paul ryan as the next vice-president of the united states. [applause] we're also blessed to have another star with us today. [applause] she is one of my favorite people in the world, and is one of america's most respected public figures. folks, didn't she make us proud with her speech of the republican national convention in tampa?

i will tell you something you somethingcondi rice, she also makes all the browns fans here proud. the only place she would rather be in here with you is the dog pound. she is an undying, loyal cleveland browns fan. welcome, former secretary of state, condoleezza rice. [applause] >> thank you. thank you. thank you. thank you. thank you. well, thank you very much. thank you.

thank you. well, thank you so much for that warm welcome to baldwin wallace university. i have to start by saying go jackets. [applause] i would like to thank my friend and wonderful senator, rob portman. thank you for all you do for your country. and you cannot find a finer public servant than rob portman. thank you. [applause] now, it is true i am going to go see the cleveland browns, who by my count won the game last week. but that is not why i am here. i want, like you, to see this country prosper and continue to be a place of unlimited opportunity. to see this country lead the

world toward prosperity and liberty and peace. and so i am here to support mitt romney and paul ryan in that quest. this is a pivotal time in our country's history. we are at a crossroads, ladies and gentlemen. we are at a crossroads about what kind of country we are going to be and whether you and i, who have benefited so much from what our ancestors gave us, are going to pass on that same country of liberty and opportunity to our children. and that is what this election is about. [applause] we are at a crossroads because we cannot continue to spend money that we cannot afford to

pay back and therefore, will saddle our children with the debts we have taken on. we just cannot afford that. we cannot afford to be a country where so many men, and especially so many women, in these hard economic times do not know if they will ever work again. indeed, americans are feeling this terrible economic tension and pain. it has been a rough decade or so. 9/11 changed our conception of physical security. the crisis of 2008 changed our conception of economic prosperity, and the past four years have been very tough on folks who just want to work hard and make a living. when i was a little girl i remember my grandfather saying to my mother, angelina, you and

john have to buy a house as soon as you can, because the value of your home never goes down. but americans have watched as this most prized asset, the value of their home, has indeed gone down. many americans out of work wonder if they will ever work again. they have reason to worry where jobs are being created so slowly. the longer you are out of work, the less likely you are to find a job. when mitt romney and paul ryan said they are going to put the country back to work, this is an urgent call, not one for which we can wait another four years. [applause] but you know as important as it is for us to pay our bills and not take on debt that we cannot afford, as important as it is to get people's sense of hope again, i want to make one other

argument. i want to say one other thing. when you are secretary of state you get to go around the world and see what this great country means to the world. you get to see what people do not particularly like about us, but you also get to see how admired america is for its central belief that it does not matter where you came from, it matters where you are going. now, across the world, people look to the united states for strength. they look to the united states to keep the peace, and by the way, we have to be eternally

grateful that we have men and women in uniform who volunteer, they volunteer -- [applause] and we have kept the strength, the peace through strength, but we also give the world hope so that people have come here from all over the world to be a part of the belief that it does not matter where you came from but matters where you are going. people here have never been trapped in their view of class as a prison. we have never been envious of one another, and we have certainly never been envious of one another's success. [applause] instead, we of been a country of opportunity and hope. as i stand here at this wonderful university i am reminded that so much of that sense of opportunity and hope and possibility comes with a good education that can transform who you are and what you might be.

i have to tell you, we all have our family heroes, and one of mine and ours is my grandfather on my father's side, a man named john wesley rice senior. when he was a sharecropper's son in alabama, he decided he was going to get book learning in a college. he asked people, how could a colored man go to college? he said they have this little presbyterian college 30 miles from here. you could go there. he went for one year. he said i am out of cotton, so you are out of luck. my grandfather said, so how are those boys going to college? he said they have what you call a scholarship. he said if you want to be a presbyterian minister, you can get a scholarship, too.

my grandfather said that is exactly what i have in mind. [applause] and my family has been college educated and presbyterian ever sense. the transforming power of education that these young people are experiencing here at this fine university is a wonderful thing of itself, but i want them when they leave here to be able to take part in the prosperity of an economy that works the way you and i do. that is also what this election is about, and that is being watched across the world, because america needs to lead from strength and needs to lead from values and principles, and america needs to feel confident in values and principles so that we want to lead. [applause]

that principle that it does not matter where you came from, it matters where you are going has always meant we are not the people that were constantly aggreived. we did not give way to aggreivement to our brother's entitlement, why don't they give me -- [applause] instead, no matter our circumstances at birth, we believe the that with a chance we would succeed. we might not be able to control our circumstances, but we could control our response and look at what we build for the united states of america. that is what this election is about. that is what this pivotal time in our history is about. that is why we are at a crossroads.

we are at a crossroads in so many fronts. jobs for our people. yes, on equality for men and women to have the same opportunity to succeed. this is a powerful country that has been a powerful force for peace and liberty in this world. i want to see it be that way well into the future. sometimes it seems the task before us is just too hard, but i want to remind you, as i said to the nation at the republican convention, that americans have had a way making the impossible seem inevitable in retrospect. the united states went against the greatest military power of the time. and then we've fought the civil war, brother against brother. hundreds of thousands dead on both sides and we emerged a more perfect union. where i live, you think about

the people who came across there in the covered wagons. they had to be optimistic, because they did not even know what was on the other side and kept going anyway. a girl grows up in alabama and cannot go to a movie theater or restaurant but her parents were convinced you could become president of the united states of america. she becomes secretary of state. [cheers and applause] america has been the place that makes the impossible seem inevitable in retrospect. it took courage and vision, and that is why i am so proud to be here today, because i know we are all going to work very hard

to make sure that vision and that leadership and that integrity that we see in mitt romney and paul ryan is available to america in these troubled times. [applause] and so it is a great honor and great privilege to ask to join me on stage, the congressman from wisconsin and future vice president of the united states, paul ryan. [cheers and applause] ♪ ♪

>> thank you. [applause] what an example. if you want to see the embodiment of the american idea, look no further than this leader off of my right shoulder, condoleezza rice. [applause] if you want to see what a capable and consciences leader looks like from the buckeye

state look no further than my left shoulder. i also want to say thank you to mary shaper. [applause] look, b.w, thanks for hosting us here today. go jackets. we really appreciate it. [applause] the three of us get to go see the grounds later today. i got to tell you, here is one thing i wanted it, i want to meet joe thomas. this is a guy from our neck of the woods in wisconsin. i watched him play college ball. he is a fantastic tackle.

a great guy. nice going last sunday. all right? [applause] i am a miami of ohio graduate. i remember during those years my friends from cincinnati and cleveland would not talk to each other at least twice a year, and it is great to see these old rivalries. didn't mitt romney do a great job for us last night? [applause] you know, this is my second time following condoleezza rice. it is a little intimidating. a tough act to follow. mitt romney had a fantastic first debate. he laid out a vision for the country. we were able to cut through the clutter of all the 30-second attack ads and saw a leader.

last night, same thing. cut through the clutter of all the attack ads, and what did we see? we saw a president offering not a single new idea on how to turn things around. we saw a president not offer a single idea or lesson learned from the failures of the last four years. what we saw in mitt romney was a leader who has the solutions, ideas on how to turn this economy around. how to get people back to work, and how to get america back on the right track, and that is what we are going to do on november 6 right here in ohio. we are going to recognize the leadership and make mitt romney the next president of the united states. [cheers and applause]

here is president obama's problem. his economic agenda failed not because it was stopped. it failed because it was passed. [laughter] he came in with one-party rule. the ability to do everything of his own choosing, and he did, and look at where we are right now. 23 million americans struggling to find work. we had a discussion about how women are faring in this economy last night. 5.5 million are still struggling for work in this economy. a half-million more are unemployed today than when president obama was sworn in. 26 million are trapped in poverty, the highest rates in 17 years. we need to get people back to work. we need to get this economy turned around. the american idea is there. it has not gone away, but we have the wrong people and the wrong policies in place, and if we clear the way and go forward with a pro-active, pro-growth solution to the agenda mitt romney is talking about, we will get people back to work and out of poverty and back in the middle class.

[applause] you know, somewhere out there on the horizon is a dream that you have for yourself, for your children. lately too many people it seems like it is getting more distant. it is still there. we need leadership. thank you, ma'am. one of my favorite historians passed away a week ago.

he would often say great leaders step up in the important moments. condoleezza rice just explained how important this very moment is. you see, this is not just an election where we are picking a president for four more years. it really does not matter what generation you come from, this is the most important election in your generation, because we are not just deciding who is going to be in washington for a few years, we are deciding what kind of country we going to be and what kind of people we are going to be. the american idea is there. in a nutshell, it does not matter who you are, where you come from, under what circumstances you got here or were born, you could make the most of your life. the only thing limiting you in this free society and free economy is your own god-given talent and hard work and effort. [applause] you can be whatever you want to be in this country. we need to remove the barrier so people can have the right to rise. so people can get out of poverty and make the most of their

lives. when you see these ideas coming from the president. when you see all the borrowing and spending and regulating and the money printing, it just does not work. if you want to see what this movie looks like at the end of the movie, go home, turn on the tv and look at europe. they are already in a debt crisis. they have already kicked the can so far down the road there is no more road to kick the can down. here is what happened. generations of politicians made a lot of empty promises to voters to get elected, and now that the debt crisis has hit them, those promises are broken promises. they are slashing health and retirement benefits for current retirees, cranking up taxes, going into recession. young people have no opportunities. the youth unemployment rate is about 20%. in greece and spain it is over 50 percent. right now, look at this great

institution we are at. right now half of college graduates are either not working in the sector they trained for or even working at all. that is unacceptable. we do not have to settle for this. this may be the best president obama can give us, but it is not the best we can give ourselves. [applause] and what history shows is the qualities that make a great leader at this kind of moment are these. a person with a moral compass. a person with a bedrock of principles. a person with a vision for the future and the ability and skills to execute the vision.

ladies and gentlemen, that is mitt romney. that is exactly what we saw last night. that is exactly what we saw two weeks ago, and exactly the man we will see on november the seventh. [applause] this is a man who has succeeded in some areas where others have failed. this is a man where when his country calls and asks him to help support the olympics in turnaround, he did that. this is a man who throughout his career has learned exactly what it takes to create jobs. turning around struggling businesses. starting successful businesses. businesses we know like sports authority, staples, steel dynamics. by the way, being successful in business is a good thing. there is nothing wrong with that. that is something we all take pride in. we do not envy other people's

success, we want to emulate other people's success. we want more people to become successful. that is freedom. that is free enterprise. that is the american dream. [applause] so when we see a president speak to our darker emotions of fear, envy, and anxiety, that is not what we do in this country. that is not how you win elections. you see the president cannot run on his record. it is a terrible record. we have a debt crisis staring us in the face, and he is given us nothing with for budgets with trillion dollar deficits every year and no solutions. we have so many people struggling to find work. 5.5 million people stopped trying. if we actually count those people who stopped looking for work, the unemployment rate would be closer to 11%. we can do better than this. when mitt romney was governor of massachusetts -- this is a republican governor of a democratic state, 87 percent of the legislature he served with

were democrats. did he demean them or ridicule them? no. he met with them every monday and he found common ground and got things done. he balanced the budget without raising taxes. he lowered unemployment. the bond rating went up. unemployment went down. that is precisely the kind of leadership we need today. [applause] you look at what the president is proposing. he basically has one new idea, raise taxes even more. raise taxes on successful small businesses so we are taxing at over 40 percent. we are not -- our competitors overseas are taxing at 25% or less. here in the midwest where we come from, here in big 10

country most of the business comes from small businesses. most of the jobs come from small businesses. overseas where i come from means lake superior. the canadians just lowered their tax rate to 15%. he wants the tax rate on small businesses, the ones that create small businesses to go above 40? it does not even pay for 10% of his proposed deficit spending. all of this borrowing and interest is going to amount to a $4,000 tax increase on middle class families. remember when he said if you are in the middle income you make less than $250,000 per year, no tax increases? of the 21 tax increases in obamacare, 12 hit the middle class.

he said he would cut the deficit in half in four years. wrong. he said he would bring people together to solve the country's biggest problems. look, the other day on tv the president said i cannot change washington from inside. [laughter] isn't that why we elect presidents? if he cannot change washington, it is time we change presidents. [applause] what mitt and i owe you is a really clear choice. that is our obligation. it is not enough for us to complain or criticize, but to offer solutions. you heard that last night. in our five-point plan are specific solutions to get people back to work, to get the economy reaching its potential, to create 12 million jobs. we have so much energy right here in ohio, let's use the

energy and create jobs. [applause] let's help the workers in between jobs get the skills they need and help the kids in our inner cities get out of the schools that are trapping them in poverty and give them a good education so they can get on with their lives. cut spending. balance the budget and stop the washington knows best and we can keep spending money we do not have. let's champion small businesses. this is bigger than that. this is not just getting jobs. it is not just creating energy. it is bigger than that. america, it is an idea. it is not just a country with a flag.

it is not just wisconsin or ohio or california or maine, it is an idea. you know, it is the only country founded on an idea. the idea is really clear. thomas jefferson said it so well in the declaration of independence. our rights come from nature and nature's god, not from government. that is the answer to the american idea. [applause] our founders established this. i see cheese heads all over. it makes me hungry sometimes when i see that. i see veterans here. the veterans of this country put on the uniform and serve our nation and secured each and every generation, and we thank them for that. [applause] please do not forget early

voting. ohians have a unique responsibility. you are the battleground of the battleground states. you are used to it. you know this. that is why you are here. you have a unique responsibility and opportunity and obligation to make sure that we secure our future, that we look back at this moment as the moment we got things right. winston churchill probably said it best. the americans can be counted upon to do the right thing, but only after they have exhausted all the other possibilities. [laughter] i kind of think of that as the moment we are at right now. mitt romney and i are pledging this. we will reclaim the principles

that made us great. we will lead and fix this mess in washington. we do not want to spend the next four years blaming others. we are going to take responsibility. [applause] of all things we are not going to try to transform this country into something was never intended to be. we will not replace our founding principles. we will reapply our founding principles. we have leaders ready to lead. we're not going to need to be saved. we a country headed in the wrong direction that can be taken on the right track. it is not too late to get this done thank you so much for coming out today. thank you for what you have done. do not forget the early vote. thank you everybody. thank you so much. appreciate it. [applause] [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2012]

>> mitt romney campaign in virginia. his first stop following the presidential debate. this is a little less than half an hour. ♪ >> thank you, what a great virginia welcome. thank you for your warmth and hospitality. i know you have been standing

for a while but there has been some extraordinary people speaking. wasn't that fun listening to lee greenwood? that was touching. i appreciate the attorney general speaking to you and congressman forbes. these are great people and deserve your support. i wish that george allen were here today but we will collect in the next center of the state of virginia. -- we will elect him the next senator of the state of virginia. governor bob mcdonnell has been campaigning all over the country for me. people recognize, as the head of the governors' association, he applies conservatives principles and applies that other states and i appreciate him coming here and spending time with me as he just did. he is quite a guy. [applause] dennis miller, [applause] he's got talent, he's got humor,

and he's got the right candidate this time, so i appreciate that. [applause] i have to be honest with you -- i love these debates. these things are great. i think it is interesting that the president still does not have an agenda for a second term. don't you think it is time for him to finally put together a vision of what you do in the next four years if he were elected? he's got to come up with that over this weekend because there is only one debate left on monday. i think the american people had expected that the president of united states would be able to describe what he will do in the next four years but he cannot. he cannot even explain what he is done in the last four years. he spends most of his time trying to talk about how my plan will work. what about his plan? we know his plan has not worked. last night, a lot of people asked questions and they deserve answers.

i think it was germany as the question about how he will get a job after he gets out of college. half the kids in this country and not able to get college- level work out of college? as a question the need to be answered then you heard lorraine saying when you promise, mr. president, to put in place and immigration reform bill in your first term -- it was mail as that question but was her idea. [laughter] she brought up immigration -- you promised in your first term, in your first year, but you did not even file a bill. she deserves an answer. then we heard from michael. he asked the question of why we should vote for you because the middle-class is just getting buried. i describe all the ways in which the president had failed to lift the middle-class.

this is an election about the great middle-class america. people who are poor get into the middle class and he had no answer as to why he had failed to help the middle class and why they're having such a tough time. catherine spoke about women and women's equality in the work force. i asked a question that she deserves an answer to which is -- why is it there are 3.6 million more women in poverty today than when the president took office? this president has failed america's women. they have suffered in terms of getting jobs, falling into poverty, this is a presidency that has not helped america's women.